Hoping to win its first conference match of the season, the Northeastern men’s hockey team (1-4-2, 0-2-2 HE) took on the No. 11 Providence College Friars (6-1-2, 4-0-2 HE) Nov. 9 at Matthews Arena. But costly penalties, including its third major this year, and careless mistakes cost the team an overtime loss, 6-5. 

In the second minute, Northeastern earned its first power play when freshman left wing John Mustard was sent to the box for tripping. The Huskies were able to get a few good looks at the net during the two minutes, including two from in front of the goal by junior right wing Cam Lund, but graduate goaltender Zach Borgiel wasn’t letting anything past him. 

In the sixth minute, head coach Jerry Keefe pulled sophomore goalie Cameron Whitehead to give the Huskies a 6-on-5 player advantage. Lund and freshman center Ryan McGuire swung off two shots, but nothing found the net. 

In the seventh minute, freshman defenseman Alexander Bales received two minutes for holding, and the Huskies wasted no time to get on the board first. Three seconds into the power play, in a fight for the puck in the Huskies attack zone, the puck slid to Lund who was near center ice. With no Friars in front of him, Lund swung and Borgiel wasn’t able to make the save. Northeastern was up 1-0. 

One minute after the power play goal, senior left wing Christophe Tellier went to the box for slashing, handing the Friars their first power play chance of the game. But Whitehead and the Northeastern defense held their own and kept Providence from converting. 

In the 14th minute, the Friars got another power play chance when junior defenseman Joaquim Lemay was called for cross-checking, and this time around, they were able to get on the board. Freshman forward Trever Connelly passed the puck from center ice to graduate center Logan Will, who was in the right faceoff zone. Will swung and even with plenty of players crowding the net, the puck was able to sneak past Whitehead, tying it up 1-1. 

In the 17th minute, sophomore forward Clint Levens fell on Whitehead, and it wasn’t long before punches were thrown. Levens and junior forward Nick Rheaume were both sent to the box for roughing, making it a 4-on-4 game for the next two. 

The Huskies earned back the lead in the last 15 seconds of the period, and it could not have been a better drawn-up play. Sophomore forward Dylan Hryckowian came from behind the net and made a beautiful pass past two Friars and straight to freshman forward Joe Connor who was on the right side of the goal. Connor swung and the puck deflected off of Borgiel’s left shoulder and into the net, giving the Huskies a 2-1 lead as the first period came to a close. 

The pass and the finish, sheesh. @ESPNPlus | https://t.co/pfRP1aKY3y pic.twitter.com/vHcSQdjDyy

— Northeastern Men’s Hockey (@GoNUmhockey) November 10, 2024

Four minutes into the second period, Northeastern widened the gap even further. Lund shifted the puck to Hryckowian, who was right in front of the net. With Borgiel unable to locate the puck, Hryckowian slipped it right behind him, scoring the Huskies’ third goal of the night. 

With a comfortable lead, it looked like the Huskies would just keep rolling. But, the Friars got a huge opportunity when Rheaume was sent to the box for tripping. Providence head coach Nate Leaman challenged the call for a major, and he earned it, increasing the power play to seven minutes. 

With a long road ahead of him, Whitehead was holding steady for the opening minutes of the power play. But Providence finally found the net in the 11th minute. Mustard scored with the help of Connelly, catching the Friars up 3-2. 

With only 30 seconds left in the power play, junior defenseman Austen May passed the puck to freshman forward Will Elger from near center ice. Elger swung, and no Husky could make the block. It was all tied up at 3-3 with a little over five minutes to go in the period. 

In the 15th minute, Northeastern earned a power play when Connelly was penalized for hooking. Thirty seconds later, Northeastern regained its lead with a goal from its captain, Jack Williams. Junior defenseman Vinny Borgesi slid the puck to Lund who made a sharp pass to Williams on the other side of the net. Williams quickly fired off a shot and gave the Huskies a much needed boost with the goal. 

The Huskies had another chance to extend their lead in the 18th minute when Levens was sent to the box for tripping. But, they were unable to convert, closing out the second period with a 4-3 lead. 

Just 40 seconds into the final period, senior defenseman Taige Harding was called for high sticking. But the Huskies were unable to convert on the power play, and it seemed to be a turning point for the Friars. 

In the third minute, freshman right wing Logan Sawyer passed the puck to Connelly in Providence’s attack zone. Connelly, skating around Huskies and trying to find an open pathway for a shot, saw an opening through screens, and the puck made it past Whitehead to tie it up 4-4. 

With the score evened up, the Huskies needed to find a way into the net. But in the sixth minute, junior defenseman Jackson Dorrington was called for contact to the head, giving the Friars a huge opportunity to gain their first lead of the game. 

With 25 seconds left in the Providence power play, Adams fired a pass to graduate center Chase Yoder. Yoder was able to swing before the Huskies defense could get set, and the puck flew right under the crossbar and into the net. Friars were up 5-4 with just under 12 minutes left in regulation. 

Northeastern tried to get things going, but nothing was finding the net. On the opposite side, Whitehead was holding strong and kept Providence from pulling away.

When it seemed like the Huskies were running out of time, they were right back in it with a goal from Lemay, earning his first goal as a Husky. In the 17th minute, Hryckowian passed to Lemay, who shifted around Friars to get a look at the net and it worked, now anyone’s game at 5-5 with less than three minutes to go. 

In the remaining minutes, both teams were able to get a few shots off, but Whitehead and Borgiel were putting on shows on their sides of the ice. Time trickled down, and Matthews Arena was set for an overtime showdown. 

During the opening minutes of overtime, Northeastern was dominating offensively, taking six shots in the first two and a half. However, the Huskies were ultimately their own demise. They missed chances on wide-open shots and opted for passes instead. When Tellier was called for hooking, Husky fans knew it was over. 

In a now 4-on-3 game, Providence ended it in the third minute. Connelly skated the puck all the way from center ice and guided it into the net, earning his second goal of the night and officially handing his team the victory, 6-5. 

“We take way too many offensive zone penalties, and it’s just killing us right now,” Keefe said after the loss. “[For] a team that’s desperate to win hockey games and then to do that to yourselves, it’s really, really disappointing.” 

It’s clear that the Huskies are losing against themselves this year. With a finally healthy roster and plenty of talent on the team, it’s up to them to straighten out their mistakes, find a rhythm and work toward wins. 

Northeastern takes on the University of New Hampshire (3-3-1, 0-2-1 HE) Nov. 15. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.